What is the Worker Protection Bill?

2023-04-07

What is the Worker Protection Bill? Q&A as Tory MPs resist law which make businesses legally liable if their employees are harassed by customer

Equality Act amendment could see workers suing bosses over rude customers
But what is the Worker Protection Bill and how will it change the workplace?

Legislation allowing workers to sue bosses could be abused by business owners seeking to take down rival firms, Tories warned yesterday.

Rishi Sunak is backing an amendment to the Equality Act that would let workers take employers to court if a member of the public offended or harassed them at work.

Proposed by two prominent Liberal Democrats, the Worker Protection Bill has already been waved through the Commons with No 10’s approval.

But MPs have raised concerns about the Bill and ex-minister Sir Christopher Chope said he was ‘concerned’ about the way it could be abused.

What is the Worker Protection Bill and what stage is it at in parliament? How are staff protected now? Read on below for more information.

Rishi Sunak is backing an amendment to the Equality Act that would let workers take employers to court if a member of the public offended or harassed them at work

What is the Worker Protection Bill?

The legislation creates legal liabilities for businesses if their employee is harassed in the course of their work by a third party, such as a customer.

If the employer fails ‘to take all reasonable steps to prevent the third party from doing so’, they will be treated as having harassed their employee.

Employers must also take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of staff.

Who introduced it?

Wera Hobhouse, Liberal Democrat shadow leader of the House of Commons, and Lib Dem peer Baroness Burt of Solihull.

Wera Hobhouse, Liberal Democrat shadow leader of the House of Commons, and Lib Dem peer Baroness Burt of Solihull introduced the legislation

What stage is it at?

The legislation, which started as a Private Member’s Bill, was waved through the Commons without any opposition, receiving its first reading in June last year and clearing all the barriers in early February.

It passed the second reading in the House of Lords on March 24, meaning it will go to the committee stage.

How are staff protected now?

Section 40 of the Equality Act 2020 prohibits employers from harassing staff, while section 109 states that bosses may be liable for harassment carried out by their workers.

Employers are not currently liable where staff are harassed by third parties, such as customers or members of the public.

But an inquiry by the House of Commons women and equalities committee and an official consultation recommended that employers protect staff from third-party harassment.

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